Ivan Morris Column – Championships to be aligned

FOLLOWING consultations between Provincial Secretaries & GUI HQ, there are significant changes in the administration of championships this year.

All provincial and national Championships will now close for entries at 11.59pm, 28 days before each Championship is due to commence.

This rule will align all of the Championships and will bring more certainty to prospective entrants.

The GUI believes this regularize procedures and facilitate the application of Condition 3 (f) of the General Rules for Championships, that “an individual who has not entered by the Closing Date may not, under any circumstances, be granted a place in the field for that Championship.”

Moreover, this is one of a number of administrative changes designed to ensure a) greater efficiency and b) greater awareness concerning Championships. The draw for each event will no longer be published at the close of entries.

Instead, a Starting List of entrants, in addition to the waiting list, will be published, which will clarify who has made the field and who has not.

The draw will be published seven days in advance, which will ensure the organization of the draw will remain more intact than before.

If the draw does not provide a full field, the closing date can be extended. However this is the only instance when the date can be extended.

ONLINE ENTRY

Online entry is now open for all Union and Provincial Championships for 2016. Go to www.golfnet.ie and select the “online entry” tab on the home page.

It is absolutely essential that all players whose handicaps are controlled by a golf club in Ireland use their eight-digit Golfnet number in entering the Championship.

As per the General Rules for Union and Provincial Championships, it is not possible to admit a player to the field who has not entered the event prior to the closing time for entries.

It is strongly recommended that players do not leave entering Championships too late as the entry system is timed to close automatically at 11.59pm in each case.

Should you experience any problems with the online entry system, please email support@golfnet.ie

PUBLICATION OF PLAYER INFO

For 2016, the Union and its Provincial Branches have also aligned their procedures around the publication of information. Championship information, in all cases, will be made available as follows: 1.

Within 72 hours of the closing date for entries, a Player Information Pack will be distributed by email to all entrants, and published on the relevant Championship Page on www.golfnet.ie.

Included in this Pack will be a Starting List detailing the names, in alphabetical order, of all entrants who have qualified to play in the Championship Field as per the criteria laid out in the Tournament Conditions.

In addition, below this Starting List will appear the Waiting List from which places in the field will be allocated.

2. Seven days before the commencement of the Championship, the draw will be published. No refunds will be issued for any withdrawals after this time.

As a result, entrants will normally know whether they have automatically made the field 25-27 days before the start of the Championship, but the draw itself will not be published until much closer to the start date.

Interpretive videos explaining further the conditions changes are available on www.golfnet.ie and through via the Union’s social media channels on Facebook and Twitter.

Ditka Recommends Golf Over Football - Despite some factual flaws for dramatic effect, the new Will Smith film, Concussion, may yet become a touchstone in the recovery of growth in the game of golf. Many parents are increasingly worried about the unnecessary violence and injuries that have become normal in sports like American Football and Rugby.

As the protagonists become bigger and bigger injuries are becoming more frequent and more serious.

It has moved such iconic stars in the two sports, Donal Lenihan and Mike Ditka of Chicago Bears fame to declare that they would not allow their children to play the sports that made them household names. The injury toll is making it an easy decision.

Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame player and Super Bowl winning coach, is famous for his gruff, fearsome disposition. When proponents wax poetic about the gridiron ideals of toughness, grit and will to win, "Iron Mike" is one figure that quickly comes to mind.

Surprising, then, that this "man's man" doesn't think that his children should participate in American Football.

In a story for the Chicago Tribune, Ditka is interviewed about the passing of Mike Pyle, a Chicago Bears legend and friend of Ditka's. Pyle suffered from CTE, which is a progressive degenerative disease found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma.

"People ask me the question. While, I would never actively discourage my son from playing football or baseball or anything else, I would probably say, 'Hey, listen, I'd prefer it if you tried golf,'" Ditka said. I agree. It certainly is a much safer option.

Words of the Wise:

It was sad for Paul O'Connell - forced into retiring from rugby in the worst possible circumstances. But, I’m relieved. Without ever being exposed to the bangs he suffered I retired from rugby at 21 (49-years ago) but every day I feel niggles and pains thanks to rugby knocks.

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